...the furniture has not. The Russian mafia has until the 30th to deliver. I have no intention of pissing them off. They're quite wonderful to deal with if you know the rules. I’m not kidding, really. They’re very insistent that I not ship any vodka. Shipping hookers and vodka is their purview, and they don’t like interlopers. I tend to shop local for my hookers anyway.

Many of you may have heard me speak of the incredible volume of books I own. Only those of you (torin3 , technomage , starbabyf4g , blaecstan , and melvh , right off the top of my head) who have had the dubious pleasure of helping me move said books don’t feel a need to get into pissing matches over who owns more books. It’s a common SCA phenomenon to think that you do, as we are all insane bibliophiles --and I applaud us all for that -- but I assure you that unless you are tedeisenstein , I win, and I have the weight ticket to prove it.

My books came in at 4 tons. And that does not count the furniture or the anvils.

Yes, I said anvils. One of my favorite moving moments was when an enormous man picked up a tiny box and grunted, “Jeez, lady, whatcha got in here, anvils?”“As a matter of fact, yes.”There’s really no clever response to that.

Today, I am waiting for the second gas dude of the day (hey vikingtatter , what’s the correct title? I guess you can’t really call them “gas dudes” any more) to fix the water heater flue so we can have hot water. Finding us internet is my next task, but in the meantime, God love the residents of Austin who feel no need to secure their networks. Oo, spoke too soon, gonna have to find a Panera, dammit. At least I had pirate for an hour. Aar, matey, I’m a goner….

No, not so much. The flue was installed by evil gerbils, who habitrailed it 14 feet horizontally through the attic, and the goddamned thing won't draft. Let's all die in our sleep from noxious gases, children, won't that be fun!

Mark the plumber was hawt, and a decent dude, too. Just told us how to fix it for free. Not that Trevor didn't already know, he's all but licensed, he's done so much of it for his dad's business. It was really funny watching him and his business partner jumping on the roof last night like spider monkeys, swearing like pirates.

Anvils you say.... now you have my attention... okay, you had me at the books to be honest.

I mention the anvil as I got some help today and made my first tiny starter forge. Nows I get to hit glowing steel whenever I want too... and I have time, and coal or charcoal... and something to make if I KNOW how to make it yet.

WElcome to the Great State of Texas. I wish you were closer, but Z, Chum and I hope to make an event overthere in the not to distant future.

I'll admit that my personal stash of books comes noplace close to that (one of the advantages of working at a library, I just check it out) but it is going up slowly but steadily, grad school will do that.

I've got some contacts in Austin if you need help helping an ISP, cleaners/etc. Just give a shout and I'll send out an email intro. But don't forget to check at Austin Public Library. I've heard really good things about them.

Yes, helping my Laurel move out of Idaho was an...experience. Thorvald-R thought *I* had a lot of books until he helped load your truck.

And I still maintain that there is no such thing as "too many books."

As for the fabric we decided not to move, if I remember correctly, much of it was a candidate for your "most period garb, most hideous fabric choice" competition. I believe we packed the best of it, left the rest all to make more room on the truck for Books.

You do own a metric buttload of books. I just have more to weight me onto this earth. And that's pared down too -- do you remember the crates and crates I took to the library and used bookstore? ahahahaha

Yeah, you're right about the fabric. Most of it was gifted to me, in some misguided attempt to "dress the Laurel." Metal laurels hit things with hammers! Silly peoples.